Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad was a

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

in present day southern

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

given in 1841 by Governor

Juan B. Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) was a Californio politician that served as Governor of Alta California from 1837-42. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independen ...

to José Rafael Gonzalez. The grant extended along the

Nacimiento River , name_etymology = , image = Nacimiento_River_1.jpg , image_caption = The river downstream of Nacimiento Dam , image_size = 300 , map = Salinas River watershed.png , map_size = 300 , ...

and Stony Creek, west of

Rancho Milpitas Rancho Milpitas was a Mexican land grant in Santa Clara County, California. The name comes from the Nahuatl word for maize and could be translated "little cornfields". The grant included what is now the city of Milpitas. History The land was ...

History

With secularization, the lands of the

Mission San Antonio de Padua Mission San Antonio de Padua is a Spanish mission established by the Franciscan order in present-day Monterey County, California, near the present-day town of Jolon. Founded on July 14, 1771, it was the third mission founded in Alta California ...

were divided into at least ten Mexican land grants (including Rancho Milpitas (Little Fields), Rancho El Piojo (The Louse),

Rancho Los Ojitos Rancho Los Ojitos was a Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Mariano de Jesus Soberanes. The grant is now mostly Lake San Antonio which was created when the San Antonio dam was b ...

(Little Springs), and Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad). The five square league Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad was granted to Rafael Gonzales. Rafael Gonzales son, Mauricio Gonzales, was the grantee of Rancho Cholame. With the

cession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdictio ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad was filed with the

Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican la ...

in 1852, and the grant was

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

to José Rafael Gonzalez in 1867. The droughts of 1863 and 1864 killed more than 5,000 head of cattle on the rancho. Charles B. Polhemus bought Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad in 1869, and sold it in 1872 to his business partner,

Henry Mayo Newhall Henry Mayo Newhall (May 13, 1825 – March 13, 1882) was an American businessman whose extensive land holdings became the Southern California communities of Newhall, Saugus and Valencia, and the city of Santa Clarita. Life Born in Saugus, Ma ...

. Along with Rancho El Piojo, it became part of the

Newhall Land and Farming Company

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

. In 1940, in preparation for involvement in World War II, the U.S. War Department purchased the land to create a troop training facility known as the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation.Draft Fort Hunter Ligget Special Resource Study & Environmental Assessment: Chapter 2 Cultural Resources
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References

{{California history San Miguelito de Trinidad San Miguelito de Trinidad

History

See also

References